How Far Can 10-100 HBD Go in My Hometown

Two weeks ago, the husband drove to the province capital on an errand and when he came back, he shared he'd spent about 90 dollars (Php 4500) just to fill the gas tank full which is almost double of what we usually spend gassing up last year. "It felt heavy in the pocket," he lamented. "Oh well, what can we do, park the cow?" I teased but I was screaming "OMG!" deep within.

The rise in the price of gas/petrol created a domino effect to almost everything in the market, from the prices of commodities to farm inputs to prices of services. The continuing price hikes are quite unimaginable and I wonder how most people are getting by these days.

To better understand how deep the impact of rising prices is to an average person, let's take a wee tour in my hometown with a budget of 10-100 HBD and find out how far it can go.

Please note that the following data are based on our current situation. We are a couple living in a countryside, with no children, no pets and no vices. We have a small backyard garden so we don't buy veggies because we grow our own and generous neighbors also share their produce.

For easy calculation, I just used the exchange rate of 1 HBD = Php50 (Philippine Peso)

Basic Kitchen Needs (for 2 people in a month)

So here we can see that with the current prices of commodities, 100 HBD is barely enough to sustain our basic kitchen needs and we are not really big eaters. I can only imagine that for a household with more than 2 people, the cost of living must be more than double of that amount.

Whilst we can stretch a 100 HBD for our basic kitchen needs to a month, others with more family members can only make it to a week. In my observation, a family of 6 would finish a 25-kilo bag of rice in 7-10 days. If they were financially challenged before the inflation, I am pretty sure they are now having a tough time to make ends meet.

Other Basic Living Expenses for a month (2-bedroom house)

So yes, 100 HBD is not enough to cover our monthly basic living expenses. Thankfully, we don't have to pay for water. And there was a seller whom we buy our basic essentials on discounted prices.

And since we don't have a day-job, we only use the car on an average of 4-6 times in a month so the $90 gas is enough. The husband goes out often but uses the motorbike to save on gas cost. I think it's tougher for those who drive to work daily or even if they commute because fare is also up the neck!

And how about when we dine out?

A typical snack set (for 2 people) would cost us around 10 HBD.

• A cup of Cappuccino ($2)
• Small cup of milk tea ($2)
• A serving of Clubhouse sandwich ($3)
• 5 pcs of small dumplings ($2)
• 2 pcs of ice cream in a cone ($1)
  

And here's a 10 HBD (Php500) worth of meals and a cup of coffee.
It's a simple meal for 3 people, with no desserts and other beverages.

And what can 10 HBD buy from the grocery?

• A tray of eggs ($5)
• 2-Liter of cooking oil ($4)
• A pack of salt ($1)
  

And 10 HBD worth of fruits today in my side of town?

• A kilo of banana ($3)
• 6 pieces small apples ($2)
• Half kilo of seedless grapes ($5)
  

A little background of my hometown

It's a countryside where vegetable farming is the main livelihood. A family has an average of 4-5 members (husband, wife, 2-3 kids).

Prior to the price hikes, we spend about 1000 HBD (Php50,000) operating cost for a single cropping season (3-months) in our small farm but that almost doubled when the prices of things started to skyrocket - gas for machinery (tractor/grass cutter/sprayer); seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, etcetera. Most of the agricultural inputs in the country are imported from overseas and prices of these things soared significantly.

An example would be a sack of Yara fertilizer that used to cost us $30 (Php1,500) but is now costing us $50 (Php2500) a sack. Our small farm uses 5 sacks of these so yes, we do feel the pinch. Additionally, we also have to increase the labor in consideration to those who do the hard work especially during the harvest season.

So whilst the industrialists are happy because they are gaining from the soaring prices, end-users like us struggle to squeeze our budgets and try not to hurt our savings and or investments.

The meme below says it all, lol!

Photo my own. Meme wordings copied online. No copyright infringement intended.

But despite all these, people here are pretty much positive. We are resilient, I guess. We tend to take challenging times in a stride. And personally, thanks to Hive and to HBD Savings for giving me the opportunity to save at least for the years ahead!

Thank you and this is my participation to the LeoChallenge by @leogrowth. Check it out and perhaps, let us know your story too.

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